`Cheriegate' rumbles on

PRIME MINISTER Tony Blair last night tried to draw a line under the "Cheriegate" affair - after delivering a passionate defence of his wife's conduct in buying two flats with the help of convicted fraudster Peter Foster.

PRIME MINISTER Tony Blair last night tried to draw a line under the "Cheriegate" affair - after delivering a passionate defence of his wife's conduct in buying two flats with the help of convicted fraudster Peter Foster.

He authorised the release of a letter from Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull saying he had not broken the ministerial code of conduct by ordering his so-called blind trust to buy the property.

In the Commons he brushed aside calls from Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith for an inquiry into the controversy.

And Mr Blair's official spokesman later said that if anybody was owed money in fees as a result of the property deal, the Blairs would pay them "in the usual way".

That was a reference to Mr Foster's claims that he had paid up to &#xA3;4,000 to an accountant to deal with some aspects of the purchase of the two flats in Bristol at the centre of the row.

After Cherie Blair's emotional defence of her conduct last night, Mr Blair yesterday gave her solid public backing, saying, while on a visit to a domestic violence refuge in London, how "proud" he was of her.

He said, "It's been a horrible time for Cherie. I am very proud of what she did yesterday, it was very difficult for her to do.

"All I hope is that the public understands when one of these situations happens, there are parts of the media ... that takes these grains of truth and on top of that a whole mountain of distortion and half-truths is built."

The Prime Minister continued, "The person that I know and that I'm married to I'm very proud of and I know that she has integrity and decency, and some of the things that have been written bear absolutely no resemblance to the person who's my wife," he said.

In a bid to defuse a growing political row over what was claimed to be the Blairs' breach of the rules governing ministers' blind trusts, No 10 issued a letter from Sir Andrew to Shadow Deputy Prime Minister David Davis.

The rules governing such trusts say that ministers should not be aware of, or be involved in any acquisitions or disposals by the trusts - yet the Blairs ordered theirs to buy the Bristol properties at a price negotiated by Mrs Blair.

Sir Andrew said that the purchase of one flat for the Blairs' eldest son Euan, at university in Bristol, posed no conflict of interest.

He said, "If the issue were the purchase of a significant portfolio of properties to rent then a conflict could arise, but I do not think that on a common sense view the purchase of a single flat for rent materially compromises the ability of a minister to take decisions."

On the role of the No 10 press office, Sir Andrew said it had "acted with integrity in briefing the media on the basis of the information that was available at the time".

He added that Mrs Blair had already taken the blame for any "misunderstanding".

The Conservatives immediately signalled they were "not going to let go" of the issue.

Mr Davis said, "I appreciate that the Cabinet Secretary is in a difficult situation, but I am afraid that his reply has failed to answer the serious questions that still exist about this affair. The Prime Minister must put in place an independent inquiry to ensure that all the questions that have been asked can at last be answered."

At question time in the Commons, Mr Blair insisted that "all questions have been properly answered" by No 10.

But accusing him of "extraordin-ary complacency", Mr Duncan Smith said after 10 days of "half-truths and evasions", questions remained over the changing of deportation orders for Mr Foster and the integrity of the No 10 press office.

But to loud Labour cheers, Mr Blair said there was nothing that "remotely warrants" an inquiry.

Dismissing the Opposition Lead-er's demand, he said, "It's absolutely typical of you that you dive into the swimming pool just as the water is running out."

Later, Mr Blair's official spokesman tried to tie up one remaining loose end of the affair, turning to Mr Foster's claims of the &#xA3;4,000 accountant's fee which, if paid on the Blairs' behalf by him, would have to be registered in the Commons Register of Members' Interests.

"Should there be a sum (payable) it would be considerably smaller than that (&#xA3;4,000) and would be paid for in the usual way," said the spokesman.

Asked if the Blairs would write a cheque for Mr Foster if he had paid the fees, the spokesman replied, "No".